Preview: Almere City vs. RKC Waalwijk - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts are currently in 16th place, after a difficult start to the campaign, while the visitors are up in 12th.

Match preview

Almere have found it tough to adapt to life in the Eredivisie, having been promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history last season, and they have taken just four points from their opening seven games.

However, the Black Sheep have faced some very tough opponents, falling to a 4-1 defeat against FC Twente on the opening day, before coming up short in a 6-1 loss at Feyenoord, and losing 4-0 against PSV Eindhoven at home.

That said, Alex Pastoor's side have looked far better against teams around their level, and their form has finally started to pick up over the past few weeks, picking up their first point as an Eredivisie side after drawing 0-0 at Excelsior last month.

Since then, Almere City have also gone on to upset the odds against FC Utrecht away from home, with Thomas Robinet and Rajiv van La Parra bagging late goals to secure all three points, taking full advantage after Hugo Novoa was dismissed just after the hour mark.

Now, Pastoor will be hoping his side are capable of following that solid performance up with their first home win as an Eredivisie side, and there is every chance they could do so, considering they have won seven and drawn one of their last eight matches against Waalwijk.

Indeed, RKC have a very poor record against Almere, and they struggled at the start of the Eredivisie season, losing their opening four games, but they have since responded very well.

A 2-0 victory away at Vitesse was the turning point for Henk Fraser's side, as they have since looked a much better team, running out 1-0 winners at home against a strong Twente side in the following match, with Filip Stevanovic bagging an 89th-minute winner.

As such, Waalwijk should have renewed confidence heading into this weekend's game, having also gone toe-to-toe with Ajax on Saturday, before the game was abandoned late on after Etienne Vaessen suffered a horror head injury.

Although RKC were 3-2 down before the game was halted, their performance indicated they have finally clicked in front of goal, having only scored five in their previous six games, and Fraser will be hoping his side are just as clinical on Saturday.

Almere City Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

D

L

W

RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

L

W

W

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Team News

Almere City will be without Faiz Mattoir, who is yet to feature this season due to injury, but Pastoor is otherwise blessed with a fully-fit squad, and he is unlikely to make too many changes.

After the Black Sheep picked up their first win in their last match, the manager is set to stick with the bulk of the starting lineup, but Yann Kitala may be replaced by Kornelius Hansen, as the Norwegian assisted the second goal after being brought on as a substitute.

As for Waalwijk, goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen is set to miss out, due to the shocking head injury he suffered after colliding with Brian Brobbey against Ajax last weekend, which left him unconscious for some time.

Consequently, Jeroen Houwen is likely to come in between the sticks, with the 27-year-old poised to make his first competitive appearance in a RKC shirt.

Almere City possible starting lineup:

Bakker; Akujobi, Mbe Soh, Van Bruggen, Barbet, Floranus; Koopmeiners, Robinet, Resink; Hansen, Van La Parra

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:

Houwen; Lelieveld, Adewoye, Van Den Buijs, Meijers; Roemeratoe, Oukili, Bakkali, Niemeijer, Cleonise; Kramer

We say: Almere City 2-1 RKC Waalwijk

Almere City finally picked up their first Eredivisie victory in the last match, which should be a real confidence-boosting result.

As such, despite the fact RKC Waalwijk's form has picked up, we expect the hosts to get the job done this weekend, although it is likely to be a closely-contested game.

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